Multicolor pencil



'May 17, 1932. I l.. CARUANA 1,858,881

" MULTICOLOR PENCIL Filed Deo. 20, 1930 fl-AAAAAAAAAA /N VEA/TOR Patented May 17, 1932 yLOUIS CARUANA, OF ASTORIA, NEW YORK MULTICOLOR PENCIL Application filed December 20, 1930. Serial No. 503,646.

My invention relates to multi-color pencils of the ltype which can be manually operated to )place any one. of a number of differently .colored leads or crayons into position for ,Y writing or drawing.

o lt is an object or' the present invention to provide a pencil of this type in which a large number of diilerently colored leads or crayons are embodied in a verysimple and inexpensive construction. c

, Brielly described, my invention comprises theprovision ofavrotating turret within a .hollow casing, the turret being provided with '.meansfor positioning and guiding a plurality of leads or crayons and being operable to Y bring any selected crayon into position for u engagement byan operating element which Ymoves such selected crayon into writing position. One of the importantfeatures of the -presentinventionresides in the mounting of -thevcrayons upon a single rotatable member -which can be assembledoutside of the pencil easingandinserted thereinto as a unit. Other objects of the invention willbe apparent from 4=theiollowing description and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended Cllfls.l j

.In theaccompanying drawings is shown by way of example a number ci' embodiments of .3uv the invention; in said drawings,

F ig. 1 is a full size external View of. my improved multi-color pencil;

Fig.V 2 is a View similar to 1 but taken at right angles thereto; 'c

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal central section through my improved pencil;

Fig. l is a transverse section taken along the lines 1 -f1 of Fig. 8, the crayons being rotated for a short distance from the Fig. 3 position; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective View oic the rotatable turret member and the associated parts in disassembled condition; and

F ig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but show- Of a pencil having twelve crayons therein. ly improved pencil comprises a hollow shell or casing 10 which is of cylindrical form to Within a short distance of the lower or writing end thereof. At such end the casing tapers, as shown at 11, toward a point on the cylindrical Vsurface for a purposeto be made l clear hereinafter. The lowerend oit' the casing is provided with an opening 12 through which a lead or crayon 13 protrudes when Vin the writing position. Y 55 Mounted within the casing 10 is a rotatable turret element comprising an axial shaft 1,4 having fixed thereon disks 15, 16 4 and y1,7. The lower and middle disks and v16 are provided with radial open-ended registering,0 slots 18 and 19, the number of slots in each such disk corresponding to the number of leads or crayons to be employed. Within each pair of registering slots is positioned'a crayon holder' 2O whose lower end is madeg hollow to receive a crayon 13. 'i Each of the crayon holders 20 is provided with a rack 21 upon its outer 'surfac'e,"tlie racks being adapted, upon rotation of the shaft 111, to be Abrought selectively into meslro with a gear 22 mounted upon a shaft jour` nailed in a pair of lugs 23 on the pencilcasing 10, the teeth of the gear extending for'a short distance within such casing.. Upon bringingthe rack associated withl the selectedfgl crayon into mesh with the gear 22, the opera! tor, by manually rota-ting the gear*` 22 is able to move such rack downward to cause the crayon to pass through the opening12 and thus be brought into writing position. rit-.150 tached'to the upper ends orn each ofthe crayon i' holders 20 is a spring 24 whose ,other 'endis anchored to the upper dislr 17. Thegear 22 is prevented from rotating in reverse direction, when a crayon has .been brought intqg writing position, by means of any suitable locking device. In the form of the invention illustrated, this locking device is inthe form of a linger 25 which is pivotedat26npon the pencil casingand can be moved intofas?" tangential plane into a position `between ad-m jacent gear teeth to prevent reverse rotation of the lgear under .the action of thespring 24.

lt will be-clear that-to withdraw the crayon `from writing position it will only be ,neces-.395

sary to move the linger 25 from between the teeth of the gear 22, whereupon the crayon holder will return to its inoperative position by its spring 24.-. The holders 2O may be provided ywith shoulders 27 which engage the 11n-...QW

derside of the disk 15 and thus limit the return movement of the holders. If desired, the finger 25 may be made of such length that it penetrates only for a very short distance into the space between the gear teeth and it may be so positioned that upon slight depression thereof it clears the circumference of the gear and thus permits the same to rotate reversely and permit the return of a crayon holder to position.

rI'he shaft 14 of the turret member may be operated by means of a cap 28 which is fixed to the shaft by means of a screw 29. The cap 28 may rest upon a member 30 which is screwthreaded onto the end of the casing 10, and is provided with colored areas 31 which correspond in color and position with the crayons 13, the cap thus acting as a color selector. When the operator causes any selected one of the colored areas 31 to register with an arronT or other mark 32 upon the stationary member 30, the rack 21 of the correspondingly colored pencil is in mesh with the gear 22. The pencil may be provided with the usual The disk 16 serves primarily as a guide, While the member 30 keeps the parts in place. Upon removal of the cap 28 and member 30, the turret members 14, 15, 16, and 17 and the crayon holders mounted therein can be removed as a unit for repair or replacement of the crayons. The assembly of the pencil is likewise a very simple matter.

My improved pencil is of particular value toV students of physiology, to architects, draftsmen, artists and students and teachers in general.

My improved multi-color pencil is characterized by great compactness even when as many as twelve crayons are used; and by ex treme simplicity.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the leads or crayons 13 may be made longer than as shown on the drawings, while the locking lever or pawl 25 may be located on the other side of the gear 22, in which event the lever will, by its iiexure, permit the gear to rotate in a clockwise di rection (Fig. 3) but lock the same against reverse movement until it is depressed by the linger of the operator until it is no longer in contact with the gear teeth.

I claim:

` 1. A multi-color pencil comprising a casing having an opening at one end thereof, a rotatable member mounted within said casing, a plurality of crayon holders supported on said member and movable longitudinally thereof, a rack on each of said holders, and a gear supported on said casing, said member being rotatable to bring said racks selectively into mesh with said gear for advancing a crayon through said opening into writing position.

2. A multi-color pencil as set forth in claim 1, wherein the casing tapers eccentrically at the Writing end thereof and the opening is located to one side of the axis of the casing.

3. A multi-color pencil as set forth in claim 1, including means for locking said gear.

4L. A multi-color pencil as set forth in claim 1, including means for returning the holders to inoperative position.

5. A multi-color pencil comprising a casing, having an opening at one end thereof, a turret member positioned in said casing and comprising a shaft, and a plurality of disks on said shaft provided with registering openings for receiving a plurality of crayons, and means for advancing a selected crayon through said opening into writing position.

6. A multi-color pencil as set forth in claim 5 including springs for returning the crayons to inoperative position, said springs being anchored to said shaft.

7. A multi-color pencil as set forth in claim 5 including springs for returning the crayons to inoperative position, said springs being anchored to said shaft, said turret member being removable as a unit from said casing.

8. A multi-color pencil comprising a casing the wall of which tapers eccentrically at one end thereof and is provided with an opening at such end to one side of the axis of suoli casing, a turret member positioned in said casing and comprising a shaft having a plurality of disks thereon provided with registering openings, crayon holders posi tioned in said openings, racks on said holders, a gear on said casing, said turret member being rotatable to bring said racks selectively into mesh with said gear, springs attached to said holders to return the same to inoperative position and means for locking said gear to hold a selected crayon in writing position.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 13th day of December, A. D. 1930.

LOUIS CARUANA. 

